I also have to thank you for being the best readers I could ever have! The last week has been filled with record-high numbers of hits for CK, and I cannot be more thankful! You all keep me blogging every day, and I love each and every one of you🙂

Secondly, Chef Katelyn has been revamped! If you’re reading from your Google Reader or e-mail, take a second to click over to the bloggity blog and have a look! I spent an embarrassing amount of time on the improvements, so have a look and I will love you forever🙂 (except we’re all best friends anyways, that is why I love my bloggy boos so much!).

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HALT! Quick note:

Today a friend of mine and I created the Next Big Thing.

We are calling them….CARROT BALLS🙂

You thought I was joking, didn’t you?

Oh and by the way, the skinny looking one is a baseball bat.

Just so you know.

This came about because I was enjoying my carrots in Lit, and then found a carrot that was shaped just. like. a tiny ball.

I showed my friend and she said that it would be a cool new product.

So what did we do?

We both exclaimed, CARROT BALLS! At the same. time.

Telepathy, I tell you:)

So if you are interested in purchasing Carrot Balls and a Baseball Barrot (ha), please call 1-800-CARROT-BALLS and we will promptly mail some to you.

I loved reading your comments on my last post! Reading random things about you guys makes me smile and feel like less of a crazykins:)

Tonight I’d like to talk about an issue that has been on the brain for a bit of time now, and needs to let loose.

Over the weekend, I saw Black Swan.

It made me feel so many emotions: unsettled, disturbed, sad, excited, humored, but the greatest of these was disturbed.

The main character (played by Natalie Portman) is a ballet dancer, living with her single mother as an adult and trying so hard to be the “perfect” ballerina.

Natalie Portman had to lose a lot of weight for this movie, to become what was referred to by the film makers as “emaciated”. I am not one to make judgement calls on one’s appearance, but their description of the actress’ condition certainly played to the fact that many of the character’s behaviors portrayed that of a girl with an eating disorder, which is a strong symbolic representation of the strive for perfection.

I know this because five years ago, I battledandovercame a terrible eating disorder that almost consumed my life. So, seeing this movie obviously brought back some dark memories, and was ultimately disturbing.

This intrigued me. Not because of the condition of the character, nor because of her portrayal, but because of the symbolic meaning.

She is asked to dance the part of the White Swan and the Black Swan at the same time, and through her struggle to portray the Black Swan, she ultimately finds hers.

Isn’t this quest for “perfect” exactly what we all get trapped in?

I think it is. We all want the perfect grades, the perfect man, the perfect family, perfect hair, perfect skin, perfect friends, perfect body..you get the idea.

But most of all, what we find ourselves trapped in is having the perfect diet or having a perfect fitness level.

Let me tell you a little story.

This morning, I woke up and packed my gym bag with every intention of going to the gym after my last class. I went through the day’s routine, and finally came home before I was supposed to go to the gym.

And you know what? I was tired. And every time I thought of getting on a workout machine, I cringed a little bit, and my bed seemed more and more appealing.

When I decided in myself to skip today’s workout and give my body the rest it deserved, a pang of guilt pinched in my chest for a second.

Woah, hold on there! Why should any of us feel guilty for giving our bodies rest?

Girls, listen and listen hard: exercise for vibrancy, and rest for rejuvenation.

If you need some rejuvenating, don’t put the extra stress on your body and set your body’s vibrancy clock backwards. Instead, give your body what it needs and then exercise when you’ve got your vibrancy back.

At church on Sunday, one of my ministers gave a sermon on “sick professions”. He spoke about the fact that Americans are constantly trying to be more productive in their lives and their careers instead of doing something that serves to help the world and people around them. Because of this, we end up feeling used instead of well-used.

Do you see the difference?

If not, think of it this way: if your heart is not in it, you most likely feel used. If your heart is in it, you feel that you are well-used, and part of a greater purpose.

The reason I tell you this is because it can apply to everything in life. If your heart isn’t in your exercise, don’t do it. You will just end up feeling used. Instead, take a break until your heart is in it again, and use that to find your vibrancy.

Today, I gave my body rejuvenation. I fought the urge to make myself productive in an ultimately un-productive way. That pang of guilt ain’t got nothing on me! The urge to be “perfect” consumes all of us sometimes, giving us the inability to see the good, the truth, and listen to our best friend: our own bodies.

Sunshine, please come back to me?! It’s been MUCH too long, and I do not believe in paying for skin cancer (aka tanning beds).

Sunshine and I are a magical match made in heaven.

Dang, I am all up on the alliteration today!

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Anywho, the title of this post is due to the fact that I’ve had a redonkulously awesome day.

This morning I woke up to a SILENT house (I am a morning freak and I love having the wondrous morning hours to myself, aka talking to my dog and eating copious amounts of cookie dough). Then, I checked my Droid (aka my baby) to find that I had won a cookbook that I cannot WAIT to review for you guys!! Slash I don’t think you guys understand how big of a deal this is…I never win anything. I am so excited for this one, I had been dying to buy it but now it is mine fo free:)

Then, after my glorious morning, I had a college interview with the sweetest lady in the world and we talked for hours and hours (okay, an hour and a half) about public health, nutrition, the food industry, the U.S. government and all of the stupid lobbyists, hiking, and hot chocolate. Love. Her. During said interview, I sipped on a delicious cup of tea from sbux and I don’t even know what kind of herbal tea it was but I don’t ask, I just drink (okay that sounded bad).

As soon as the interview ended, my Dad was waiting for me with a big ol’ smile and said he had an email he wanted me to read that would make me very happy. Did Grandma send me money? Uh, no, he said. Instead, it was an email announcing my first college acceptance! Holllllaaa at me girls! I am so happy because this school is one of my top choices. However, I will not disclose the name of the school until further acceptances and decisions have been made:) Until then, I will tell you that it will be SUPER easy for me to go for a jog on beautiful trails, hike a mountain (or three), get some yummy veg (and raw!) eats, and buy groceries from local co-ops and natural food stores so I can cook for myself. Oh, and I would be majoring in nutrition and doing lots of undergrad research.

Any guesses?! I might just tell you if you’re right;)

So, why did I tell you about my awesome morning, loot, and college acceptance? Not only because I love to talk about myself:) but also because I believe that everything in life happens for a reason, with a plan, and is also greatly determined by karma. One of my favorite mantras is:

I’m a strong believer in karma. What goes around comes around. Be graceful and wise in all that you do, and the world will return the favor.

And in case you were wondering, yes I did make that up, and I know I am a genius. Okay maybe not a genius, but I live by this principle.

And I’m pretty sure my day has been amazing so far because I had an indulgent Indulgence Friday🙂

Continued with Ethiopian food, which is served on a giant piece of bread. It is called Injera and is addictingly delicious, we brought home approximately 12 rolls of it, I kid you not. By the way it is amazing with almond butter and jam, it is like a sweet and sour delicious sticky mouthful (get your mind out of the gutter people!). Oh, and you eat the food with your hands. I love permission to make even more of a mess than usual:)

Chickpeas, lentils, collard greens, cabbage, and a small salad of tomato and onions atop a hugh jass piece of injera. Oh and we had two baskets of the stuff. Did I mention we have a lot of injera in our fridge?

What goes around comes around? I completely agree. Especially when it comes around in the form of Gluten-Free Raspberry Amaretto Cookies.

Pour wet into dry and mix thoroughly. Dough will seem dry but keep stirring! If it is still too dry, add milk or liquid of choice by the tablespoon until it reaches a doughy consistency.

Gently fold in almonds and raspberries.

Scoop by the tablespoon onto your cookie sheet and flatten slightly with your hand (running your skin under water first usually helps to avoid sticking).

Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until the outside is dry enough to touch. I prefer these still squishy on the inside when leaving the oven. It allows for a firm outside with a doughy, moist filling.

Ingredients? Word.

All I have to say is that this has to be the most scrumdiddlyumptious recipe I’ve ever concocted. I would describe to you every delicious flavor in this doughy deliciousness, but that would take too long so I am just going to tell you to make these. Don’t even question it, just do it.

If you need further persuasion, know that I ate four and a half of these babies last night, then had to freeze the rest or else they would have been gone.

I am the COOKIE MONSTA🙂 Do not get me near a cookie jar or it will be empty in approximately 2.41 seconds flat. Don’t look so surprised. There’s a reason I cook so much!

(p.s. sorry for the awesome photography, fluorescent lighting is not my friend)

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That’s all for now dearies!

My plan for the rest of the day?

Learning everything the college I got into.

Doing my Stat project (it’s due at noon on a Sunday, how does that even happen?!)

Working out

Making and eating pizza. A lot of it:)

Coming up soon on the bloggity blog:

Tonight, a recipe for Gluten Free Pizza for One because it is VEGAN PIZZA DAY!! Uh, a whole holiday dedicated to eating pizza? I’m down!

Reviews on Black Swan (holy shiznits) and The Social Network. I saw two awesome movies in one day and I daresay my brain might explode. Can I just say I wish I had swan wings? I’m pretty sure it would bring all the boys to the yard. Who wouldn’t dig a girl that can fly pirouette?

How do you stay bronzy beautiful in the winter? Or if you’re pale like me, we can bond over our pastiness and go to the Caribbean:)

My bronzer is not sufficient any more. If you pay for the trip to the sunny countries, I will pay you back in smiles and natural highlights:)

How did you celebrate Indulgence Friday?

Uh, by eating food with my hands off of a giant piece of bread, and then eating a lot of cookies. Indulgence Friday = celebrated.

What’s your favorite kind of cookie?

I love the classic choco chip, but lately I’ve been digging the more elegant combos like orange-cranberry🙂

Hi!

Chef Katelyn is a blog dedicated to the lifestyle of finding health, happiness, and inner peace through eating, exercising, and living well. I believe that what we put into our bodies, how we use them, and how we choose to enrich our lives directly effect our health mentally, physically, and emotionally. I hope you find some this balance with me while I continue my journey every day :)